I’d like to go back to an address I made to the General Conference of Elders of the United Church of God on May 2, 2020.  This was to be our biggest conference yet, celebrating 25 years of the United Church of God’s existence.  We planned for 80% of the ministry to come to Cincinnati, OH for the special event.  As it turned out, this date was in the midst of the darkest days of COVID-19 pandemic.  The in-person conference was canceled.  I did speak to our ministry, but it was in an empty room with everyone listening online wherever they were in the world.

Our theme for Conference was Conviction, Commitment and Courage. 

I chose to speak about Courage as it applied to our outlook on the world and how we need to face challenges in doing our Work, such as in the time of COVID which we were in and didn’t know how things would work out. 

I was inspired to post this as a podcast because of a person who wrote to me how they found this message online and how it helped her face a current life’s trial.

So, here it is...going back to May 2, 2020 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On Thursday July 13, 2023 Aaron and Michelle Dean and Bev and I were invited to the Church of God Seventh Day Conference held in Covington, Kentucky this year. About 1000 people were in attendance. We had dinner with Loren Stacy, President of the Church of God Seventh Day and his wife Karen as well as elder Mike Wallace.

This is my interview with Mike Wallace. 

At the conference we had a wonderful evening reminiscing about our “recent” relationship going back 30 years when first visiting the COG7 Headquarters in Denver, CO and further back to the days when Herbert Armstrong fellowshipped with them. It was good to talk about their work in training ministers and leaders in their ARTIOS Christian College which has a well-developed training curriculum. We also talked about evangelism and working with Young Adults where they have been successful. COG7 has 200,000 members worldwide. Wonderful evening. At the evening worship service I met many people with whom we’ve had contact with over the years.

The Flood was more than an epic event.  It communicated key messages in God's Plan of Salvation for a world without sin.  

Key elements identified 

1. A world coming to a dead end 1almost 1700 years after creation of man.

2. Fixing the blame. Christ preached to the demons

3. The need to start again. God's Way will prevail

4. Repentance 

5. Salvation

A great resource to understand I Peter 3:19-21 is a sermon by Mitchell Knapp

htt1ps://www.ucg.org/sermons/christ-preached-to-the-spirits-in-prison

Noah's flood was confirmed by Jesus Christ, Peter and Paul.  It's more than a story...it has end-time implications.  Don Hooser talks about the story of the flood from Genesis 6-8.  Part one of two....Part 2 coming soon.

I have known Steve Buchanan for about 40 years.  We have covered the same territory over this time.  Hear his candid impressions his career, changes of course, triumphs and setbacks.  

Steve is a multi-faceted and multi-talented peer whom I have admired over the years.  He publishes a newsletter World News and Prophecy  that you are welcome to subscribe to online at 

https://worldnewsandprophecyreview.com/

Steve can be reached at 

[email protected]

From Italy, a replay of a very popular podcast from October 2022   I spoke to a dear friend Paul Spenser who lives in Mjolby, Sweden.  He is originally from the Isle of Man located in the Irish Sea between Ireland and England.  We first met in 1995. 

This podcast was recorded in Italy in October 2022 at United Church of God’s Fall Festival in Saubaudia about one hour north of Rome.

Through unfortunate circumstances in his life, Paul has become a single parent.   He has three children who are growing now through their teen years.  My wife Bev and I really enjoyed seeing them last year.  

In this podcast he speaks about his life, his homeland the Isle of Man and about his life’s journey as an isolated Christian and tells us how he copes. 

When Christ returns, will He find faith on the earth?   The indication is that there will be little faith, if any.  

But, in the midst of spiritual darkness, there are bright spots and I want to discuss one.

This is a story of believers in remote Zambia who came to believe and wished to be baptized.  But, remoteness and other obstacles that I describe kept them waiting.  They still met weekly,  Through perseverance and patience along with setbacks, they prevailed. I was privileged to baptize them in April 2011 in Lusaka, Zambia.  

This article appeared in the March/April 2022 Beyond Today magazine. 

Chuck Smith, Senior Pastor for the United Church of God, recounts his experiences, triumphs, and setbacks in the Caribbean.  He and his wife, Mary have served this area for ten years as pastor and ten additional years previously as volunteers.  

He speaks about the Bahamas, Guyana, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and more.  

Great stories!  

Tina Kuo Graham speaks about her faith and how God has worked with her.  She is Director of Operations at East Gates Ministries (https://eastgates.org/) dedicated to serving and equipping churches in China. She is married to Ned Graham who is the President of East Gates and the youngest son of of the late Evangelist Billy and Ruth Graham.  

Tina also has a love for Israel and studying God's Word. 

In this compelling, personal interview Tina shares her story and gives her her perspective on the Israel-Hamas war.  

I have worked with Tina back when we both worked at the Worldwide Church of God. I have consulted with her over the years about matters relating to China and now Israel. 

Date of the interview:  Friday, November 17, 2023

This episode was recorded 33 years ago at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California.  Bev and I had just returned from the USSR.  I found this message among tapes I almost discarded.  I was so fascinated by what I heard after 33 years that I want to share it with you on The Kubik Report.

I talk about our work with Radio Leningrad and our friendship with people where faith in Christ was now allowed openly. 

This is my first message to the Church in Pasadena after moving there from Minneapolis.